


I'm Only Here to Establish an Alibi

by chatalyst



Series: Ask Prompts from Tumblr [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ask Game, F/M, Heist, Implied Sexual Content, Magic, One Shot, Requited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, from tumblr, the ot3 being little shits of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24258451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chatalyst/pseuds/chatalyst
Summary: From the tumblr prompt: I'm Only Here to Establish an Alibi
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Ask Prompts from Tumblr [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751149
Comments: 7
Kudos: 85





	I'm Only Here to Establish an Alibi

Marinette was just starting to understand the magnitude of the situation when Alya swept into the small cabin, a flurry of orange and white fabric.

“Alya, what-“

Alya pressed a finger to Marinette's lips, silencing her with a look. 

“I’m only here to establish an alibi.” She said, fluffing the ballgown Marinette had gifted her. “And to look fabulous, of course.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at the same moment Nino groaned.

“Is everything ready to go?” Adrien asked, not bothering to knock before barging in after Alya. He’d all but sprinted to the meeting location, his cheeks slightly flushed, eyes bright and breathing labored. His hair was slightly mussed, as though he had run his fingers through it repeatedly.

Marinette sighed through her nose, beckoning him forward. 

“Everything would be ready if you would stop messing with your hair.” Chloe snarled from the sofa. “Seriously, Adrien, you just need to look like a put-together aristocrat. Your  _ one job _ is to pretend to be rich - which shouldn’t be a problem considering who you  _ are _ \- and you come in here looking like a-“

“He looks fine.” Marinette snapped, ignoring the way Chloe’s eyes bored into the back of her head. She focused instead on the cravat currently loosened around his throat. 

The throat she had been so preoccupied with not 12 hours earlier. 

Her cheeks burned as she beheld the dark bruise she had left near his collarbone, it’s twin somewhere hidden beneath his dark purple shirt. 

She didn’t know what had come over her. One minute, it was like old times. The two of them were working side-by-side on their next great adventure (read: heist), both deeply engrossed in their separate projects. He was a warm, steady presence by her side. The only interruptions to the comfortable silence were made by the tools in front of them as they worked. 

There hadn’t been that spark between them for weeks. 

But then he had turned to her, dark circles under his pretty green eyes and holding up his newest invention. He had asked her for help, explaining what was wrong and how he didn’t know exactly how to fix the issue.

But his words fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, it wasn’t Marinette’s closest friend and partner sitting next to her, but that boy who she had fallen head over heels in love with all those years ago. His eyes were so hopeful, so trusting of her abilities...

And Marinette had felt it. The spark hadn’t vanished at all. Perhaps it was simply lying in wait all this time. 

She let her mind wander as she fixed his hair, remembering how she had mussed it herself the night before. Her heart had practically beat out of her chest as she felt him finally react, finally kiss her back, finally murmur  _ “finally” _ against her throat. One moment, there had been nothing at all but quiet comfort, the kind that came from knowing the one person you trusted most in the world was safe beside you. The next...

Marinette had all but thrown her contraption off the table to get closer to him.

And it didn’t matter what today was bringing. It didn't matter that this may go very wrong for them, or that this was their biggest heist to date. The odds were undeniably stacked against them, but all she could think about was the way he had held her so gently, pulling away to smile at her, to ask if she was okay with this, if it was okay if he-

“Marinette?”

The memory dissipated. She realized, with some embarrassment, that she had been staring at his lips. His hand was placed gently on the wrist she still had on his cravat.

“Are you alright?” Adrien whispered, but his eyes were wicked. Teasing.

_ Little Shit. _

“Of course.” Marinette breathed, turning away. “I was just running over everything in my mind again.”

  
  


“Me too.” He purred, his thumb tracing slow, gentle circles on her wrist.

Gods, it was warm in here.

“I meant the plan, Adrien.”

“That’s what I meant, too.” He said, both brows lifting in mock surprise. 

But still his hand remained on her wrist, his eyes locked on hers, his lips so close that all she had to do, really, was lift up on her tiptoes to reach his stupid, insufferable,  _ glorious _ l-

“I’m sorry, did we miss something?” Chloe blurted out.

Marinette and Adrien jumped apart, red from their head to their toes. Neither looked at each other as they began their final check of everything, Marinette’s heart thundering as she heard Nino’s muffled laughter. 

“Oh we definitely did.” Alya crooned from the couch.

“Thank the gods; they were getting insufferable.” Nino said. “Do you guys remember the beach heist we did last summer?”

“I do!” Alya said, her feline grin causing dread to pool in Marinette’s stomach. “I remember she was a wreck for weeks beforehand, worrying about if the shade of blue on her swimsuit was going to wash her out. For some reason, that scenario ended with us all dying alone in Esteredge.”

Nino burst into laughter, but Chloe’s scowl deepened.

“Yours doesn’t sound nearly as bad as what Nino and I went through.” She said, bunching her hair to tie into a ponytail. “Did you know that Marinette’s communication devices have the capacity to make three-way calls?” Chloe glared at Adrien, who looked ready to sink into the floor. “At. Three. In. The. Morning?”

“Okay!” Marinette said, her voice an octave higher than usual. “That’s enough!”

“I could keep going!” Nino called.

“We need to discuss the plan.” Marinette said, no room for argument in her voice. “Unless you’d all like to go in blind?”

Everyone went silent.

“Good. You know your assignments. Nino, you’ve mastered taking down defenses. This home is no different. You’ll dismantle the security system and help our two agents get in. Chloe, you take out the security by any means necessary. Death darts are a last resort; you will use the tranquilizers first. You both get in, get out.” Marinette turned toward the couch. “Alya-“

“I know, I know.” Alya said, waving a hand. Four figures appeared, identical to the four people in the room. Illusions and magic - that was Alya’s special talent. And one that could not be wasted on an opportunity this large. “I will provide an airtight alibi so that we don’t get caught.”

Marinette nodded, steeling herself to look at the final piece of the puzzle. 

“Adrien,” she said. “This entire night hinges on how well you play your part. Youve done this your whole life. Get information. Distract. Take hostages if you have to. But, no matter what-“

  
  


“Come back in one piece.” They all said in unison.

  
  


Marinette transformed then. It was honestly one of Adrien’s favorite things about her. 

She was beautiful, kind and highly intelligent. She had the capacity to be an anxious fireball one moment and a ruthless, unnerving leader the next. His entire body thrummed in anticipation as she raised her chin, staring them all in the eye.

“These are orders I won’t budge on either. Past that door is a world that can lead to certain death if we are unlucky. I do not make plans that deal in the absence of luck.” 

They rose one by one as Marinette turned to the front doors of the cabin. It was an unspoken rule between all of them - even Chloe. He felt the thread of understanding tying them together like a physical thing as Marinette opened the doors.

She was their undisputed leader, and they would follow her into anything.

The darkness of the forest around them threatened to swallow them whole, but Marinette was grinning ear to ear. 

“You have your tasks.” Marinette murmured. “Now go play.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
